Infected Leaves
by ShadowCrossNin
Summary: An SOS. An Eclipse Village Shinobi. The town of Konoha over run by the infected. What caused the virus? And will the Shinobi be able to protect the survivors he meets?Rated T for violence, adult themes. ShikaXOC other pairings and zombie goodness!
1. Scars of the Leaves

A/N: I do not own Naruto, Any Naruto affiliations, or any zombie affiliations.

The first chapter! A little short, but i'll update more today or tomorrow. Review and give me ideas on who you would like to see alive! (I may not keep some character's alive even if requested, only because I would'nt be able to keep track of over 100's of shinobi's from the Naruto Manga/Anime. But we will see many familiar faces in the forms of zombies, or survivors! Be prepared for Zombie Apocalypse goodness!

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I was sent here on an SOS our village received from Konoha. My name is Ori. I'm a 17 year old chunnin from The Eclipse Village. I'm primarily a ninjutsu user, specializing in gravitational jutsu that the Juuryoku blood line passed down. I was sent here on my own to do a back up over a few street riots. I didn't expect to see what was in store for me...

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"Holy sh--" Ori looked at the Village of Konoha as smoke plumes flew into the sky, accompanied by the chorus of screams and moans throughout the village. The horrifying melody put a shiver through Ori's spine. "What the hell is going on in this village?" He ran through the main gates past an abandoned post, and a few houses with broken windows. One house in particular caught his eye. It was painted in blood prints as bodies lay around it, some missing ears, some missing limps, some missing almost everything but their skeletons. "Oh god I think i'm gonna hurl..." Ori stared at the horrifying scene in front of him. This was much more than Street Riots, Ori knew that for sure. 

"Crap, I've got to find some shinobi here, this isn't normal! I need to find someone with answers.." Ori frantically searched through the first couple houses he passed earlier, only to find 2 more dead bodies and a variety of limbs scattered throughout the houses. _"What could have caused all this mayhem!" _Ori thought to himself. "The first 2 houses had nothign but limbs, and now this house has more dead bodies? I cant take much more of this." Ori paced back and forth, oblivious to the fact that he was being watched. Two deep, empty eyes watched him pace back and forth. There was nothing in these eyes any longer, just one urge. To feed.

"Gravity Hammer Jutsu!" Ori formed the handseals right when the creature pounced. A rush of air formed into a large hammer, and caved the skull in on impact. Yet, whatever it was, he was unsure of. He flipped over the body to reveal the face of a woman..He had just killed a woman. Yet, the remorse left his body as he stared at it's eyes, the eyes of something that has no soul. Something was going on here that kept changing by the second, and Ori knew he had to find someone, someone without those empty eyes. He jumped through the window to gain high ground onto the building across the street, and that's when he saw the chaos.

"The streets ahead were crawling with hundreds of these grey skinned, empty eyed monsters. Innocent people, reduced to nothing but soulless beings. "Oh no...Are there even any survivors left to find?" He groaned as he made his way closer to the infested streets. He stayed on the roofs jumping over the heads of hundreds of moaning monsters. He had to do something to reduce the numbers. He had to fight. "Gravity Pull Jutsu!" Ori yelled as a blob of purple and black crashed its way into the numbers of the infested, immediately pulling a good 20 of them into the vortex, stuck to each other, unable to move. "Now time for this, Earth Style, Rockbomb Jutsu!" He then sent massive boulders flying into the infested ranks, pulverizing the ones in his gravitational area, and knocking back the ones closeby, yet no matter how many times he tried, they kept getting back up. "I can't keep doing this, by the looks of it, I've only killed a good 40 something, but there are hundreds more. I've got to retreat, and send for help..It's my only ho--" Ori felt a hard thud against his head. "_How could I be so reckless to let them hit me...Wait...They can't get up her-..." _At that, Ori blacked out, and feel into the arms of a young man, who carried him to safety.

* * *

"What? Where am I?" Ori gasped as he recovered from the head injury. He looked around and noticed he was no longer on the rooftop, but in a building he didn't recognize. He looked to his side to discover a boy in his teens as well, a black ponytail in the back of his hair, who appeared to be asleep. But at the sounds of Ori's gasps, the boy seemed to snap out of his thinking. 

"Well well, is this the SOS we called for? You may not have noticed, but you're a bit late." the boy said this with no joke intended, but a grim, serious look on his face. "But what you might have noticed is that the riots we explained earlier on, are no riots. Those things out there were caused by one of our disbandoned Shinobi. He goes by the name of Orichimaru, and he came up with a jutsu that destroys a person's bodily functions and has it run on two things, eat and kill." The boy finished his story there and looked at Ori. He was in shock to find out that those things out there were created by a shinobi..but he was confused as well..

"Why did you knock me out? and Who are you? Where are the rest of your villages shinobi?" Ori asked these in a mid yell, as he regained his bearings and stood up over the ponytailed boy.

"Whoa now, You ask a lot of questions. You're becoming pretty troublesome." The boy muttered this, making Ori shoot a glare his way. "Allright all right, I'll answer your freaking questions..I knocked you out because you were basically commiting suicide. My name is Shikamaru Nara, and the rest of the shinobi are either in hiding, or one of them." He muttered this, and looked away. Ori suddenly went from angered to sympathetic. _ This guy, Shikamaru, doesnt know where any of his comrades are, no, where any of his friends are, and he must feel like he can't do a thing.. " Ori thought. _

"Hey, I'm sorry about yelling, it's just, this situation is pretty weird for me. If my village knew it was this bad, there would have been a lot more of us here. But by the looks of it, you dont have any messenger birds still alive around here do you?" Ori looked at the Nara, and listened Intently on the next words spoken. "The only birds I know that might still be alive would be at the Hokage's office, but there are hundreds of them over there, and not to speak, but their are hundreds around us as well. It's hopeless to try to get there. I already risked to much by saving you. You...What's your name?"

Ori was taken aback, but regained himself and spoke back to Shikamaru. "My name Is Ori. Look, I'm sorry about what's been going on. But we just cant sit here and wait for those things to find a way to us. We have to get out there and find your friends.. Your comrades.. then we can head to the office together." Ori said this not knowing what Shikamaru's reaction was going to be. He honestly wanted to help this guy find his friends. "He saved my life, I can help his..." Ori muttered to himself.

Shikamaru was, for a lack of a better word, surprised, that someone from a different village was adamant on helping him find his friends, and so what courage he lacked by himself, he seemed to gain from Ori. Shikamaru put on a faint smirk. "Well It'd be pretty troublesome to stay here and wait for our dooms, so let's go search for some survivors I suppose." Ori was glad that his words got through to Shikamaru. He had only just met him, but the way he talked and just the way he was, attracted Ori more than any of the girlfriends he had in the Eclipse Village. He wasn't sure if it would be wise to tell this to Shikamaru though. Who knows how he might react. He didn't even know how he would react. He never had these kinds of feelings before. It was a mixture of respect and attraction. But why...

"So Ori. I saw your jutsu, It seemed like you can form gravitational matter into weapons?" Shikamaru asked. Ori nodded as he searched for his kunai and other equipment. "Yeah, it's a bloodline limit, although, I have discovered a lot of new secrets to it than most. Do you know where the first person you want to find would be at?" Shikamaru gave the boy a weird look. From what he analyzed from the Ori's earlier battle, he only used his bloodline and an Earth Type Jutsu, what kind of secrets does he have up his sleeve? "I want to find Ino and Chouji, but for the sake of the village it would be wise to head to the Hyuuga Household, if we can find anyone there, they can help our search tenfold."

"Well let's go then. Give me your hand." Ori held out his own towards Shikamaru. Shikamaru looked aghast. "Holding hands? What's that going to do to help us ou---. " Shikamaru felt a jolt connect through his body as Ori grasped his hand. It was warm, and it felt protecting, Shikamaru looked at Ori only to see them both on a rooftop near the Hyuuga Estate. Shikamaru let out a small smirk and looked at Ori. He was'nt sure what he felt when Ori grabbed his hand, was it the technique, or something else? "Sorry about the shock Shikamaru. But for this Jutsu to work I need the person or myself to think of the place in question, and I can open up a warphole that can take us there. That's a benefit of being part of the Juuryoku clan." He let out a laugh, and Shikamaru followed. He knew it was wrong to be laughing at a time like this, but something in him just made it feel ok, if only for a second. "Well, we better start our seach around the est--" Shikamaru's face went pale white. He watched as he saw Hiashi Hyuuga feeding on the remains of Hinabi Hyuuga. "Oh my god..They got the Hyuuga family." Ori was aghast as well. He saw almost 20 white eyed monstrosities feeding off each other, and the corpes around them. "I failed him again..I failed all of them.." Shikamaru let out a cry as he fell on his knees. He felt a splashes of hot tears fall from his face as he saw the estate in ruins. "If only I came back from the mission sooner, I would have been able to save them! I could've.." Shikamaru fell to the floor as Ori punched him in the face. The punch connected and sent Shikamaru tumbling. "It's not your fault! You were assigned a mission and you did it, You couldnt have stopped this even if you were here! You may have ended up like them! Now we can sit here and cry about the lives you lost, or we can go into those ruins and find some survivors." Ori shouted this towards Shikamaru. He looked back at Ori and got himself up. "I'm sorry, It's just, I almost lost Neji the first mission I was assigned as a Chuunin, and now I may have actually lost him. And Hinata as well.." Shikamaru looked back to the estate and was filled with rage. He scanned the area searching to see if Hinata or Neji were part of the dead or infected, but he could not find them. "They may still be alive.." Shikamaru got up and jumped over to the estate as Ori followed. As they landed before the gates of the Estate the white eyed Hyuuga's set their sights on their new meal. "Shikamaru, look at how some of their bodies are positioned. It looks like they're in a...no it can't be. .a. a. fighting stance?" Shikamaru let his eyes wander around to Hiashi Hyuuga and saw as his hands sent out numerous hand seals, and activating the signature Byakugan. "No, They can't be able to use their techniques..How? Is this why we could'nt defeat them earlier on?" The corpse of Hiashi charged towards Ori, hands raised in the gentle fist fighting style. "Shikamaru, go in and find your friends, I'll hold these guys off." Before Shikamaru could say what was on his mind Ori spoke again. "I dont know what your friends look like, and if things get to hopeless out here, I've got my trump card to stop these guys." Ori looked his hands and activated his technique. "Gravity Fist Jutsu, Activate!" Shikamaru watched as Ori's hands became surrounded in a blob of purple and black spheres. "Now go! I can hold these guys off!" Shikamaru ran into the building and slammed the doors behind him. "Be Careful you idiot, Don't get yourself killed.." Shikamaru thought to himself as he ran through the bloodstained building.

"So you're the Hyuuga's eh? I'd have rather met you on better terms, but that's not possible now. I'm sorry.." Ori punched his fist into the ground causing a massive hole to appear in the stone. Yet it didn't connect to the underground. It went off into a different dimension, and as Ori jumped into the window above him, he watched as the Hyuuga's helplessly flew into the hole one by one. "May your souls rest in peace Hyuuga family..." Ori watched as Hiashi held onto the branches of a tree and sent a venemous screech into the air. His arms were ripped off his body, and he was swallowed into the etheral hole in the ground. "Ni, Tsu, Ni" Ori formed the handseals and the hole closed in on itself and let out a final wail of desperation. His hands fell to his side as the jutsu deactivated. The ground was solid once again, and the only sign of the Hyuuga families bodies was clinging to a tree branch. Ori looked through the window to see that the fight had attracted more than one uninvited monster. He tore out of the room he was in and ran through the halls, searching for Shikamaru.

* * *

Shikamaru heard the sound of the battle before he saw the effects of it. He had just finished searching a 5th room to no avail, when the sound of the earth shattering met his ears. He raced to the windows to see a hole in the ground sucking in the Hyuuga family, or what was left of them. His eyes could not find Ori, and his mind went racing. "Was that a sacrifice jutsu? No...Hiashi let out a screech and looked upwards...That must mean he saw something, no, someone up there. If Ori is in here, We can search this house together...We can--" Shikamaru was cut off as he heard the sound of fists pounding beneath him. How could he have been so stupid! He knew that most clans had underground basements just in case of an emergency. And the Hyuuga clan was no different. "Oy! Hinata, Neji? Are you guys down there?" Shikamaru waited for an answer.."Shika...mar..u?" He heard the faint whisper of Hinata's gentle voice and knew he found her. He started searching the room he was in for a door, and found it behind the painting of Hiashi, standing infront of the very tree where his last moments were. Shikamaru reveled in the irony and went through the back of the painting and down the stairs.

* * *

Ori heard Shikamaru a few rooms away, apparently he had found a girl underground..Ori laid a small explosive note in the corner of the room and evacuated. A small explosion went off, and a hole appeared underneath him. Ori jumped in, only to be confronted by a roughed up looking boy. "Oy, Neji, he's with me." Ori heard the familiar voice of Shikamaru, and turned around to see him, comforting a girl with long black hair, and watched as the other boy sat beside her. He also had long black hair, and wore a white robe similar to the one's he saw on the Hyuuga's during his battle. "Shikamaru...Neji was bitten by one of those things...We need to take him to the hospital right away, it's looking infected.." Hinata uttered this at, and got a glare shooting from Neji's eyes. "Hinata. I do not require medical assistance. I can still fight and move fine." He glanced at the boy that Shikamaru brought with him. "Are you the SOS we sent out for?" Neji looked at the boy, before he fell in pain at the feet of Hinata. "AGHHHURGGHHH!!" Neji let out a pained yell as he rolled on the floor. Hinata started crying heaves of tears that splattered on Neji. Shikamaru looked towards Ori. Ori nodded at once and ran towards the three. He grabbed Shikamaru's hand and formed a vortex that sucked in all 4 of them into a hospital a few miles away. But something was wrong. It was quiet. Too quiet... 


	2. A Cut of the Worst Kind

A/N: I do not own Naruto or zombie stuff. Thanks, read and review!

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The hospital cast an unfriendly light down on the group of Shinobi as all 4 viewed the destruction around the main entrance. Bodies and organs were scattered throughout the area, well covering the walls in massive amounts of blood. "My-y, Neji-kun…" Hinata's eyes flew down into the ground to avert her eyes away from the horrible sight. None other than Hinata's own teammate Shino Aburame, was among the massive crowd of infected. Hinata let out a faint gasp as she wept silently for her fallen friend. She had trained many days and nights with him, and even had gotten him to smile on rare occasions. But now…The Kikai user just wandered through the courtyard, searching for more prey, along with over 30 or more unknown civilians and shinobi. She ran into the opening arms of Neji as she wept over her comrade. "Shika-maru...u.. kun… Wh-y-y Konoha?" She gazed into the eyes of one of her fellow rookie nine, hoping to find an answer.

Shikamaru held back a gasp of surprise as he watched Shino maim a raven a few feet away from him with the help of his Kikai bugs. "This could get troublesome…We can't get past Shino. Those bugs seem to be infected as well…They could easily swarm us, and even being near, could draw their attention." He muttered to himself. "Shika-maru...u.. kun… Wh-y-y Konoha?" He turned to see tears falling from Hinata's eyes as she rested in Neji's stammering grip. Neither of the two looked any better. Hinata was on the nerve of a breakdown as she saw one of her childhood friends, and almost her whole clan, wiped out. He was speechless. "This may be troublesome Hinata…But there is a way out of this… I know it..." His eyes inadvertadly flew to Ori's. The boy was solemnly looking over the courtyard, contemplating no doubt, on how to bust their way through. His stoic features only lent into the mystery of who he was, and why he was so intent on helping them. Shikamaru's memories flew back to when Ori grasped his hand. "What a troublesome guy…Why does he keep insisting to help us..Not that I don't appreciate it…It's just..Damn…Why cant it go back to sitting up on the roof of our house watching the clouds?" His thoughts scrambled through his head as he looked up toward the sky. "The clouds are restless tonigh------" A horrible screech rang through the air causing shivers to fly down everyone's spine. Hinata looked around in fear and wept into Neji's soldier as he nodded to Shikamaru and activated his Byakugan. "Damn troublesome things. What in hell's name are these things?" Before he could answer his own question he watched as more than 20 of the infected citizens rushed around a corner near the hospital, chasing after a small boy with long spiked brown hair, and googles resting on the top of them…No, it couldn't be….

Konohamaru….Shikamaru looked towards the boy running at full speed, as he rushed towards them, waving his arms in fear. "Shikam—m—m—ar—u…." His breath was staggered and he looked worse for wear. His clothing was ripped in odd places, and his two bestfriends were no where to be seen. Tears splashed down his face as he came closer, bringing the ungodly wailing of the infected with him. "Shika-a-a…Help-p…" Konohamaru collapsed a good twenty feet in front of their group, as the infected approached at a rapid rate. To make matters worse, Shino and the others in the courtyard had also heard the rucus, throwing out loud groans into the air. Much to Shikamaru's dismay, it seemed that Shino had full control of his bugs in his infected state, and even though the bugs themselves did not carry the infection in their bloodstream, they obeyed their masters order to stop the others from moving. "Shit…Ori! Hinata! Neji! I want you guys to meet me back here in 3 hours! If the other isn't here presume the worse and search the hospital!" Damn, he thought to himself..Always the hero. He sprinted towards Konohamaru as Ori and the others followed in close suite. He Yelled back one more time, but was cut off as the Kikai bugs swarmed around all three of them. He instantly watched as Neji dealt with a massive amount, leaving Ori and Hinata to retreat, Neji bringing up the rear. Shikamaru turned his head back to his own mission as he scooped Konohamaru up onto his back, and took off onto the roofs, a place most of the civilians could not reach, although a few of the infected shinobi followed after. "Damn, how can they do this when they're already dead?" He through 3 well placed Kunai into the heads of each one, which silenced them forever. His eyes scanned the battlefield where he watched as Infected Shino was in hot pursuit of the others. Neji was not holding out long enough, Ori or Hinata needed to take his place against Shino. He knew Hinata would not do it.. She was to traumatized, which left Ori to charge in. Which he did exactly, making a very adept Earth wall, giving them coverage for a quick escape. For now….If his assumptions were right he had less than 3 hours before Neji became like the others. He knew this because he witnessed his mother, and Father Shikaku, fall to the bites of various infected citizens, leaving them incapacitated. His father gave Shikamaru an order to run, and he did so, only to return a good 5 hours later to see his parents had joined those already infected. "It spreads through bite…I was hoping the hospital had a good chance of keeping him alive…Tch….I'm sorry Neji…" Shikamaru raced forward with Konohamaru on his back, hoping he could find the other 3 before the three hours were up.

* * *

The Kikai bugs were swarming everywhere as Ori took Neji's place in guarding each other and attacking the swarm. The others swiftly escaped ahead, leaving Ori to face Shino. The young man was in a tattered shape as bitemarks protruded from his arms and chest, his sunglasses, careening to the side of his face, and his trench coat ripped in more places than one, hung off of the boy, as he tumbled forward swiftly commanding the bugs with his arms. Ori lept up over the boy, jumping onto a wall for safety as another cascade of bugs swarmed over him. His eyes flew over to where Hinata and Neji were a few houses away. Neji was currently fighting off two or three weak infected shinobi from the rooftop while Hinata gazed towards him, eyes glazed over with grief. The thoughts flung around his mind. Shino was very much infected, but Hinata did not want to accept it. He could not begin to imagine how she must have felt, watching her once good friend, open his mouth in an undesirable moan. Ori looked behind Shino, as Shikamaru disappeared with the boy on his back. Now it was his turn. He turned back to the infected Shino only to see his flank of bugs was now joined by more and more of the infected, yet he could not bring himself to kill Shino for Hinata's sake. His hands formed a few necessary hand seals as a wall of earth flew up into the air. "Earth Style, Cascading Wall!" The wall formed at the top as it grew wider and high enough for the three shinobi to make their escape. Ori took one more look back as a few infected, including Shino, let out a hair raising screech as they ascended the walls. He would never forget the Look of death in the assailant's eyes, accompanied by the look of pain, smothered deep against the raging infection.

The three ran from the rooftops as quickly as they could passing scenes of gathered destruction. Two cracks in the earth appeared slightly a few kilometers to the left of The hokage building, along with scattered needles in the ground, and through many heads of the assailed. "Sakura-chan..Shizune…Hokage-sama…" Hinata uttered to herself. She gestured towards the wide cracks in the earth, and the needles, where bodies lay. Ori's confusion set in as he related the scene to her words. _"Those must be battle signs of the three names she uttered, including their Kage.."_ He thought to himself as they came to a stop, lead by a profusely sweating Neji. Hinata stopped next to Neji and checked his fever, and let out a gasp as her eyes darted to the infected bite on him, as it seemed to grow darker and darker. "_Holy shit…"_ The answers to how it had spread rushed to Ori's head, as he looked towards Neji. Both Shinobi shared a look of shared knowledge as Neji withdrew his arm from Hinata's reach. He screamed in pain, falling to the floor, on the side of the building they had jumped on. Ori made sure no infected were in the vicinity, and walled off both areas, preparing for the worst, not if, but when Neji turned into those damned things.

"Ori, I apologize for not informing you of this earlier. I am sure Shikamaru knows as well." Neji spoke in a slow decisive voice, as if choosing his words could somehow change the events that had already occurred. "It happened earlier when the Hyuuga state went under siege. We heard them before we saw them. The Main Family sent the Branch family out first to investigate, and I was among them. We stood guard in front of the Hyuuga estate oblivious to the fact that something was amiss until we activated our Byakugan. We then saw the pain in the eyes, the darkened chakra, and the gore surrounding them. Some had no arms, missing eyes, or other extremities, and were slouching until they approached. When their line of vision met our eyes, they rushed in. Our forces were unsure to attack other Konoha Shinobi until we saw the bird in the sky. The sign of a disaster had been sent, and we attacked with all our might. The numbers overwhelmed our own, and in the fight, only I made it back to the main family. Hiashi asked for the report, and was not even phased when I reported the branch families annihilation. It infuriated me so, to know he did not care, but it seems his own belief in his abilities got himself killed, as he and the others ran out, with Hinabi following behind. Hinata had fainted when she heard news of the annihilation, and I stayed behind to protect her. In the scuffle I saw Hiashi return, but he was not himself. He lunged forward, sealed my points, and bit into my arm. I was unaware of the effects until I saw what happened to Hinabi and the others. Hinabi had been bitten severely and her skin was decomposing, but those things attacked her without and mercy, until—AGHRHH!" Neji let out a pained scream as the infection wracked his body. He fell to the ground sweating profusely, and slumped against a wall. Hinata went pale as she saw her cousin gasping for air, breathing in the last breathe of air he could muster, he called out for Hinata. "Hin-ata..I am not much longer for this world. Please…" Hinata listened intently to every word that escaped Neji's lips, as if she were starved of food, and this was her nectar. "Please…The legac—y, of the Hyug-g-a clan…Is in-n you-r-r hand-s…." Hinata's eyes welled up with more tears as Neji spoke his last words. "Ne-j-i-k-k-un...Pleas...see... don't leave me here….I'm not read-y-y..don't want…to…lose…you-u- here…" Her words came out slowly and spluttering as the tears fell into her lap as she sat next to her cousin. "I'm sorry for not-t-t belie-v-ving in your –str-tt-entgh…Ma—in Fam—i—l-ly Hyuug-a Hinata-a…" Hinata's tears stopped flowing as she reached for Neji's forehead. His Protector glimmered against the puddle of tears, and the leaves around them scattered. She removed his forehead protector with a slight gasp from Neji. Her lips moved to his forehead as she placed a tender kiss on him. "Father taught me this.." Her stuttering had stopped along with her tears, and a strong sense of pain and confidence grew in her eyes. "Release! Branch Seal!" Neji's white eyes grew in shock as the seal slowly dissolved off his forehead, he stared at his cousin as if she were an angel, and he had the luck to revel in her beauty. "I'm sorry I couldn't do this sooner…You are no longer a branch family member to me…You are Neji Hyuuga, of the Main Family…And I, Hyuuga Hinata, acknowledge this." She spoke with a sharp tenderness in her voice, and the tears formed in her eyes, but the stuttering left her. "I Hyuuga Hinata of the main family vow to bring honor to you Hyuuga Neji, of the main family. I love you cousin…" Neji's eyes, the very same eyes that viewed Hinata as a nusicance, a hated idol, now basked in the love that she had been waiting to give him all along. "I ha-vee-e be-e-n a-a foo-ll..I than-k-k you Hyuuga Hina-at-a….Head-d- of the-e Ma-i-in Fami-ily-y…Te-ll Te-n-te-n I'm so-rry…" His eyes then moved to Ori's who had not uttered a word, not wanting to destroy the final moment of the last remnants of the Hyuuga United Family. "Pr-ot-tt-ect Hi-n-nata-a…" he gave a last shudder of breath and relinquished life, death creeping into his body.

Hyuuga Hinata…The last of the Hyuuga family of the Hidden Village of Konoha ascended onto the rooftop before Ori could say a word to her. She silently signaled him, and Hinata gave one last look at her cousin, before Ori sent a wall over the top of the others he had formed around Neji, concealing him from view, but not before his eyes opened, and let out a snarl of pain that shattered Hinata's courageous face, and made her collapse in tears. Hyuuga Hinata, the last of the Hyuuga clan, clung to Ori as if he were her last hope, and her eyes spread wide as she saw an orange and black blur approaching fast behind Ori.

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A/N: I honestly didn't want Neji to die. He's one of my favorite characters, but in order for Hinata to gain the courage to save others (hint hint) she needs to be able to have something to fight for, and now that she is the last Hyuuga, she must stay alive. That is her new Ninja way. The orange and black blur? I'll let your imaginations wander, and do you think any of the rookie 9, team gai, or others are safe? And what of the Hidden village of Suna? Some new survivors will be found, along with a few more surprises among the ranks of the undead. Review and thanks to Walkietalkie03 for reviewing and favoriting! I'm not going to drown this thing in Yaoi, honestly, I doubt we'll even see anything more than a kiss from the two of them, if that. I'm not a major fan of Yaoi either, and I just want Shikamaru to have some sort of balance that wasn't something he's seen so much of lately. And sorry to all the readers for the late upload and any OOC'ness that I might've had. R and R! Sorry also if the chapter was a little bleh! 


	3. The Forming of Bonds

"Hinata…I'm sorry…" Ori held his arms wide, the only thing he could think to do for the last Hyuuga. "I'm sorry that it ended this way, but we've got to keep moving. Those...Things…They're everywhere. If we don't keep a steady pace, we'll lose our chakra from fighting them." Ori waited for her response, waited for her to run into his arms, but she did not.

"Ori-kun…Thank you. And I agree, we have to keep moving. If there's one person who ca--"A swift orange blur flew past Ori's face, sending him sprawling into a nearby wall, disrupting Hinata mid sentence, and gaining some not so wanted attention. "Shit…Hinata, did you see what that was?" Ori stood up and brushed himself off, then looked over to Hinata, her Byakugan was already activated, but her face was void of emotion as she stared towards a building a few meters away.

"Narut—t-o…kun…" Ori slowly crept his way closer as Hinata uttered the name aloud again. He looked towards the building opposite of theirs, only to catch the sight of a burning orange chakra encircling the boy Hinata faintly called too. "What is that monstrous chakra??" Ori's eyes went wide, as the boy encircled himself in more of the fire like chakra, three tails jutting from his backside. "Hinata, get behind me now. Who ever this is, he's dangerous, and from the looks of it…He's one of them…" Ori grabbed Hinata's arm firmly and pulled her behind him, as for the 3rd time that day, Hinata watched the crazed form of another one of her closest comrades, and secret obsession, bare it's fangs down at her. "Hinata, tell me everything you know about this…this..thing…" Ori analyzed the situation. The boy seemed to be engulfed in the chakra, eminating it like a poison out of his body, and Hinata, too traumatized to speak anything else, only uttered the name of her fellow comrade..Naruto.

"Shit..Hinata, please, get out of here, find Shikamaru, use your Byakugan, and just find someone else alive in this damned city…I can tell this is too much…" Ori gazed back at the hideous chakra flowing freely through the air, menacing over Hinata and himself, yet not making a move. It's fangs bared back, and it pawed the building, as if about to pounce at any given moment. Ori let his eyes dart around his surroundings, The bug boy, Shino, seemed to have gotten lost after the battle, so they were safe from one thing, but the wall's holding Neji seemed to be giving in. The chakra monster had caused such a noise, that a countless number of shinobi and citizens infected with this thing, gathered underneath the building, cutting off all chance of escape. The Naruto boy in front, the infected down below, and Neji, soon to be free from his prison, behind. "Hinata, please, you don't have much time, just run, I promise I'll meet up with you soon, I'll prote--"  
Ori's voice was cut off as he heard a sharp howl from above, and as quick as lightning, the monster had begun to pounce.

"Hinata move now!" Ori's legs instinctively jumped, and he watched as Hinata, in the nick of time, gave way to instinct and jumped as well, tears welled in her eyes, a despair so hard, that it dug right through Ori himself. Hinata gave him a glance of horrible sorrow, then her deamenor changed, as she activated her Byakugan again, eyes crying, but screaming out silent determination to right this horrible wrong. "Ori, please, let me handle Naruto…" Ori grasped at his hearing, hoping to have misunderstood the meaning, but again Hinata repeated herself, this time exerting the words sharper than knives. "Go find Shikamaru, help him with Konohamaru and find more survivors. I'll stay here. I will fight Naruto." Naruto, covered in the flames, landed directly in front of the Hyuuga, locking eyes, and exerting a flaming spirit. "Hinata..are you sure…He looks to power—"

Ori was cut off yet again, as Hinata spoke her words sharp and precise. "Ori, this is not a game, I know what my duty is. I will fight for my fallen comrades, and for the Hyuuga name, and I will fight Naruto, I will show him how strong I have become, and he will know, that I, Hyuuga Hinata of the Main Branch will defend herself with her own power. Now please, leave this to me…I will find you…I promise. GO!" Ori jumped past Hinata and the beast, leaving the two in a vicious lockdown.

* * *

"Hinata! Don't let your emotions falter your way! Do what you think is right, but survive!!" Ori took one last look back, hoping that Hinata's words were true. He could sense the conviction in her voice, and he knew that she would either defeat this monster and survive, or take her life, to free the others. "These Konoha ninja are something else…" Ori lept over the next rooftop and spotted a hotel across the way.

Zombies stumbled out of the building, and walked through the streets, He jumped over onto it's side and used his chakra control to scale the building, he stopped by window after window, hoping to see a survivor, but all he seemed to find was blood and bodies. Each window contained a different image of violence, or just a total silence, of nothing. The empty rooms seemed to freak out Ori the most. He finally reached the rooftop and collapsed on the building. He had used up way to much energy fighting. "Dad...How am I gonna get outta this one?" Ori closed his eyes, and recalled his dad's words on their blood limit, and cursing his stupidity.

* * *

"Ori, my son...We have been granted with a very special gift. We can control the movement of gravity, and in escence, the ability to warp ourselves. But with these powers comes a strong price. We of the Juuryoku clan know this. And now you must know." His dad stood and grabbed his son's hand.

"We are the start of the Juuryoku clan...Your grandmother was the very first of the family to exhibit this trait, and ever since, It has been passed between our blood. Bonding us in ways beyond space and time." Ori sat at attention, slowly intaking his fathers words, wanting to learn how to control this power to protect his precious ones.

"Our clan has one primary technique. A technique that has been called one of the most dangerous threats to the nation. We can of course control aspects of gravity, forming weapons, but our true power lies in the warpholes we can create." Ori's face went from excited, to confused. "Warpholes? You mean like things that take you from one place to another?"

"In lamer terms, yes son. But while our enemies are in this warphole, they lose all sense of reason, as they border through a dimension of unfathomable abominations. Not even we know what is actually contained in the warpholes. But once the enemy has reached the end, they are transported back out of this dimensional warphole, into a different area within a 10 mile proximity of where they started, although they traveled far more than just 10 miles. " Ori's dad stopped there and took in a deep breath, his father knew that what he was about to explain, may scar his son from ever wanting to use his powers again. He closed his eyes, and began to talk.

"Once the person exits the wormhole, they lose all ability to speak, to move, to want to do anything. They lose their sight on why they are alive, because they faced an immense terror in that wormhole, destroying their idea of life as they once knew. This technique has yet to be seen by the Feudal Lord, or known about. Your grandmother discovered it when fighting a horde of bandits attacking our estate, and held it from me and your aunt until a few years ago. and now, just as she told me, i must tell you." Ori's eyes grew wide at these statements. He never knew such a power could extinguish someone's will to live. That kind of power is horrible. And what lay in the wormholes that they open up? "Father, what about the wormholes we use to teleport ourselves or comrades?" Ori wondered why he never saw it when he teleported.

"Our clan produces two wormholes, a safe passage, and the passage of the damned. Your body instinctively knows when to use which, so you are safe from accidently using it against a friend or on yourself. This is a sort of failsafe built into our ability. You also must be wary, because once you use your bloodline to much, your body will fall into a paralysis, ranging from 1 minute to an hour or longer, depending on the exertion of gravity, or the size of your wormholes. We still do not know the full effects of why the people lose their will to live, but never use this technique unless you are in a life and death situation...NEVER.."

* * *

"Dad, what happens now..." Ori's entire body was wracked with paralysis. He could hear the battle between Hinata and Naruto raging on, through screams, groans, and a bizarre but beautiful song. He did not know how long he was lying there in paralysis, he only knew it must have been a while, for the battling noises of Hinata and Naruto had already dissapated. He was anxious to know if Hinata was ok, but even then, he still could not move his body. It felt like he was frozen solid, his entire body as cold as ice, yet the searing heat of pain hit him like bricks. "I can't believe it hurts this m-much...And what about the worm-hol-e...when will the Hyuuga's be teleported back...and wher-e..." Ori knew that the wormhole could stay open for days, even weeks, or for all he knew, the Hyuuga's could already be back...and attacking Shikamaru..."damn it all. Why doe-s-s...This have to hap-pen...now..?"

Time for Ori crept by slowly as he had to endure the maddening chorus of hundreds of dead, singing the verses of despair and sadness. "I've got to urge myself to move..." Ori exerted all his energy into moving his legs, which stayed numb through the entire process, not responding to his commands. The moon of the night seemed to disappear little by little until he heard a faint noise behind him. It was a soft patter of 6 legs. "Could it be...Shikamaru, that kid, and Hinata are he-r...e?" He tried his hardest to move his head to see the approaching noise, only to hear the sound of breath panting, and slow breathing. Ori urged his body to respond to his desperate pleas at motion, knowing that it couldn't be Shikamaru or anyone he knew, otherwise, they would have called out to him... His body still lay motionless, unable to move, and barely able to speak. He bit his tongue, hoping that whatever it was would think he was dead...His breath studdered, and he slowly tried his hardest to hold it in, only exerting air when he desperately needed it. The 6 legs still stood behind him out of his eyesight, although he could sense the cold hard stares being shot his way. He heard the footsteps approach again, then a voice, nervous but confident.

"Oy! You alive?" The voice was rough and gritty, but the sound of a teenager his age. Ori let out a sigh of relief, and suddenly felt his hand slowly regain movement. Never had he been so happy to move just any part of his body. His hand slowly raised, and he let out a small groan. "Yeah...Just exhaust-ed.."

"Damn me and my buddy here thought you were dead!" The boy let out a small laugh that seemed innapropriate, but at the same time, gave Ori a sense of relief he hadn't felt in a while. "Are you the reinforcement we called out for a week ago? Man you're definitely late..." The tone changed from joking to sad as the voice spoke. "My entire clan was wiped out, my best bud is one of them, and I have no idea where my sensei, or my other comrade is. You're the first person we've found alive in a while..." Ori knew there had to be 2 other people with him, he just wondered who.

"I heard 4 other footsteps...Who're you? and who's with you?" Ori tried his hardest to sound confident, but friendly at the same time, although it was unnerving that the boy only refered to himself, and not his other 2 comrades.

"Well how bout you tell me who you've seen first...Then i'll tell you who I am. Fair deal?" Ori let out a small chuckle then coughed. He could feel the movement in both his hands, although he couldn't lift anything else yet. The boy's voice exuded cockiness, but a friendly swagger that he couldn't help but think was hilarious. He knew the guy wasn't a threat, and was only worried about his village. "You've got a deal-l there-e...Can we tal-k..someplace-e.. else though..?" Ori let out a grin, and then after knowing he was around someone who could help, collapsed into a short sleep, getting a short deserved rest he needed. As he drifted off, he felt a warm pair of arms lift him and place him on a large furry back. His last thoughts were on hoping Shikamaru got away safely, and wondering what in the world happened during Hinata's fight.

* * *

"Naruto-kun, I..I.. love you…" Hinata's eyes gazed into those of the crazed demon's, staring back at her with the hate of a million people. She finally pulled the courage to say her long awaited secret, and it only took the death of her entire clan and one of her comrades to spur it on..she felt the gaze attack her yet again. "But I must show you…That I can protect myself!" Hinata raised her arms into the proper alignments, and wove her feet into the Hyuuga branch fighting stance. "I'm glad I'll be able to show you my newest techniques…Naruto-kun.."

The monster let out a heart scratching roar, and charged, it's paws digging deeper into the roof building, cutting the air like butter. "Spring Awakening, Art of the Swan!" Hinata's arms moved fluidly through the air, her back arching, legs twirling, and a bright blue light emerged from throughout her body. "Flight of the Swan! 64 palm strike!" The blue light engulfed around Hinata, then grasped Naruto, and holding his body down, the blue clashing, and fighting the orange. "Eight Palms!" Her first hit sent the roof collapsing in. "Sixteen palms!" The second crashed the buildings support beams, sending the lumber collapsing everywhere. "Thirty two palms!" The third swallowed Hinata, Naruto, the building and over 20 of the infected in a light blue light. "Sixty fou—" Hinata was cut off, as Naruto grabbed her palm about to send in the final strike. The orange chakra seared through her flesh, burning her skin. She quickly raised up her chakra around that arm, blowing off Naruto's hand, but leaving a nasty scar. The pain flowed for a second before Naruto made 5 copies of himself using his Kage Bunshin. "Oh no.." Hinata had struggled with just one, but 5 of these things were now surrounding her. She knew in her mind it was time to show Naruto what she had been waiting to show. "This time, I'll be helping you, Naruto. I'll be the one to save you!"

"Summoning Art: Serenity Swan!" The Blue light that had engulfed Hinata, the extensions of her body, swarmed around her, encircling her being, and then flashing a bright light as a beautiful swan, emerged, feathers white as the full moon, almost as large as one of Naruto's toad summons. It flapped it's wings, once, twice, and then three times, sending almost all the infected in the vicinity, and the 4 shadow clones of the demon naruto, hurdling a few kilometers away, most being scattered in the forest, some on the very edge of Konoha, the shadow clones disappearing in a puff of smoke. "Hinata-sama, are you injured?" The swan's voice was a mixture of the most beautiful songs blending their harmony, and the sharp edge of a obedient servant, ready to do anything for it's master. "Yes Serenity. I need your help now. Naruto…no, the whole village has turned into a ransack of total infected drones. There are few survivors, and I've only met with Shikamaru, Konohamaru, a man named Ori, and….Neji-kun…" As if all knowing, the swan bowed it's head in respect towards her fallen comrade, the locked it's eyes with the flaming boy. "Hinata-sama, I do not think we can beat him fighting separately…" Serenity observed the movements of the orange swarmed boy, then gasped in horror. "We have to work together to beat him…Otherwise… We will surely both die here." Hinata nodded her head, and jumped onto the back of her trusted ally. "I agree Serenity..His power is so strong. We must combine our power, if we want any chance to gain the power to win this fight…" Hinata stared into the eyes of the monster, once the love of her life. "I'm going to save you Naruto. I promise, I'm going to save you no matter what…" The swan spread open it's wings, letting out a burst of powerful wind, Hinata raised her hands and formed the correct seals, searing the blue chakra around Hinata to extend just as Naruto's chakra around himself. The combination of powers accumulated into Hinata's Chakra, and she slowly built up her energy, knowing that this would have to be the final blow. The battle had been short to this point, but she could tell if it went on any longer, she would have no chance at victory. This was her moment, while Naruto-kun is stunned I can rush in and…and…take him down. The wings of Serenity closed in on Hinata, and both master and servant flashed white, before the swan disappeared, and Hinata, emitting a sharp, dense, and beautiful chakra emereged. She stared deeply into Naruto's eyes, only seeing those of a sort of demon. The claws around Naruto's hands tensed and a ball of light swarmed through his hands, gaining size and speed, knocking Hinata out of her reverie, and into her battle stance. "For you Naruto. I will show you the light!" The blue formed into a set of wings, as she rose over the arena, preparing for the final clash. Naruto charged his Rasengan towards Hinata, the ball exuding a wicked orange chakra that could peel flesh right off the bone. Hinata's body moved into a determined stance and set her palms above her. "Guardian of the Lake! Swan Song!" Naruto's body froze right before reaching Hinata, the Swan Song sending Naruto into a haze of light, as Hinata's hands pushed the chakra out of him. Her palms hit Naruto in the chest, the shoulders, the legs, aiming for all the chakra points, as the song kept Naruto stuck in a frozen light.

Hinata plunged her palms through Naruto's chakra system, finding the points where the orange devoured his own. The chakra burned her hands, but she continued pushing it away from Naruto, causing the wicked chakra to recess into Naruto's core. Hinata slowed her attack as the orange slowly disappeared from around the body, and then with her final blow, disappeared into the core of his chakra system. The song which had surrounded Naruto had ended, and he fell from the sky, landing face down onto the rooftop where the battle had taken place. Hinata smiled, knowing she had freed her lover from this world, as she too went collapsing into the building. She turned her head towards Naruto's. She knew that she had used up more chakra then she ever had before, feeling the fatigue rush through her body. She looked over at her lover, as her vision blurred, and her mind began to rest temporarily. She knew that she had no time to fall asleep, but it felt right…She used the last of her energy to move her limp hand to Naruto's, placing it over his and grasping it gently. Her eyes began closing and she felt the sleep wash over her as she smiled, taking a look at Naruto. "Funny….I could swear that his hand just…." Hinata let the fatigue take her then, and she dove into a sleep she had never felt before. Her hand over Naruto's, she wondered when she would wake up. And she wondered why her hand felt like it was really moving.

* * *

A/N: It's been a long time since I updated this, but don't worry, I'm still working on it!

For all you NaruHina fans, I love the pairing as well, and you don't have to worry, Hinata is alive, just the battle and using her best techniques had used all her chakra. I don't know why I chose her to be able to summon a swan. It just seemed like it was her, and that somehow, she trained her body to use new techniques. If you haven't noticed, I kind of like having the girls become stronger, although the guys that are alive in this story will progress as well.

Now the hand moving at the end? Is Naruto going to awaken and attack Hinata in her sleep? Who knows….You'll find out a surprise next chapter, and some character survivors and a few deathes.

What about Ori? Is he ok? Who did he meet? Can you guess it? and how the hell did Konohamaru survive and why did Shikamaru save him?! You'll find out next chapter!


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